Director Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller sells to Warner Bros.

The sluggish Hollywood film script market is picking up. After some bidding, Director Steven Soderbergh’s movie project, “Contagion,” sold to Double Feature Films at Warner Bros. The budget $60 million. The script, written by Scott Z. Burns, revolves around a viral outbreak. Several top notch stars are attached to the project including, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, and Jude Law. More on the project and the bidding at Deadline.com/Hollywood.  

 Actress Tori Spellings has two books coming out in 2010

Tori Spelling is having quite a bit of success as an author. The book publishing website Galleycat claims Spelling’s two previous books, the adventures in celebrity parenthood “Mommywood,” and the tell-all memoir, “sTORI Telling” have sold nearly a million copies. Another Spelling adult book is due out in June and it’s tentatively titled, “Uncharted terriTORI.”

Later in September, Simon & Schuster is publishing the actress’ first children’s book, “Presenting… Tallulah.” It’s about a spunky little girl who discovers who she really is with the help of some special friends. More on Spelling and her books here.

Kathryn Bigelow’s star is rising — not the case for most Hollywood female directors and writers! 

“The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow is the favorite to win the Oscar for best feature film director at the Academy Awards next month. Lately, Bigelow has been showered with awards, accolades, and deal offers. All well deserved. Despite Bigelow’s success, 2009 was a “terrible year” for the majority of female film directors and writers, according to a report on The Wrap website. The stats are grim. Read it here.  

“Valentine’s Day” scores on a record breaking Presidents Day weekend

The new romantic ensemble comedy, “Valentine’s Day” is on a nice roll at the domestic Box Office. “Valentine’s Day” helped produce the biggest February weekend and biggest Presidents Day weekend ever. In four days, Friday-Monday, the celebrity-packed chick flick earned $63.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. “Valentine’s Day” now ranks up there with “Sex and the City” and “He’s Not That Into You.” Two other very different films debuted well last weekend, too. Details and analysis here.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A shot of the Burbank hills from South Sunset Canyon Drive

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Three road warriors work out in the Burbank hills

Photos: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove –Flowers in bloom in Burbank

Enjoy it while you can. This spring-like weather in the Southland will soon be history. While it was another sizzler in Burbank today with the temperature hovering pretty close to 80, tomorrow a cooling trend begins and by Friday, cloudy skies and a chance of rain. Get ready to dig out the coats, jackets, and yes, umbrellas.

If you’re feeling lucky, buying a Mega Millions ticket for tonight’s drawing might be your key to a secure future. The jackpot for the Mega Millions is up to at least $56 million. That’s a lot of money up for grabs. Mega Millions is one of the largest multi-state games with 35 states –including California –involved. The drawing is tonight at 8 p.m.

The odds of winning a jackpot are looooong (1 in 176 million), but there are winners. Recently, a Texas man cashed in a Mega Millions ticket worth $144 million from the Friday, January 26, 2010 game. If that’s not amazing enough, William R. Kiefer, a very religious man, plans to give a huge chunk of his winnings to charity.

“The greatest gift my parents gave me was to be raised a Christian,” said Kiefer. “I plan to give 60 percent of all after tax winnings to charity.” Kiefer is quoted in a Mega Millions press release. He’s a man who apparently lives his faith. Kiefer sees his jackpot win as an opportunity to spotlight his faith and to raise awareness for the worthy causes he plans to support like charities that aid abused children, earthquake battered Haiti, and retired nuns. Keifer wants others to follow his example. Good idea.

Music Superstar Madonna is set to direct her second motion picture, a romantic drama based on the real-life love affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Edward’s love for the twice-divorced Simpson prompted him to abdicate the throne and marry her in June of 1937. As you can probably imagine, the love affair created an international scandal. The pop diva is writing the screenplay for “W.E.” with her “Truth or Dare” (1991) documentary director, Alex Keshishian, according to several sources, including the website donedealpro.

The singer’s first effort as a feature film director, “Filth and Wisdom,” did not make a lot of waves nor money at the Box Office. The romantic drama about three roommates living desperate lives in a London flat opened back in October of 2008 and quickly disappeared. Madonna’s directorial debut scraped up only $22,406 at theaters, according to boxofficemojo.com

Actress Vera Farmiga is reportedly eyeing the lead role of Wallis Simpson in “W.E.” Farmiga is nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award this year for her performance in, “Up in the Air.” No word yet, on who might play King Edward.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Palm trees, blue skies, and sunshine on a winter day shot from Bel Aire Drive in the Burbank hills.

The temperature is rising in Burbank and that’s a good thing. At 9 a.m., it’s 60 and the day will just get warmer and better. A high of 80 is expected in Media City on this February 15 — Presidents Day holiday. A good way to remember Presidents Washington and Lincoln, get out and enjoy the American life.

Female ticket buyers showed their power at the domestic Box Office once again this weekend as not one but two chick flicks landed in the top five. Leading the way and ranking number one, the new star-packed romantic comedy, “Valentine’s Day” with a huge debut of $52.4 million.   

V-Day is about couples and singles dealing with romance and the pressure of Valentine’s Day.  The cast include big name entertainers like Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Foxx, and Taylor Lautner.

Another new film debuted in second, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”  This fantasy adventure snagged about $30.1 million in movie theaters across the country. Logan Lerman stars as Percy, a teenager who discovers he’s the descendant of a Greek God and that sets him on a path of an exciting adventure.        

In third place, the new film version of “The Wolfman,” which earned around $30.6 million. Clearly, some moviegoers were looking for something with a bit more, ah teeth, this Valentine’s Day weekend and this horror thriller grabbed their attention. Benicio Del Toro plays an American who returns to the home of his birth in England because of urgent family business only to be bitten and cursed by a werewolf.

The mega-hit, “Avatar” is still pulling in moviegoers and landed in fourth this weekend. The alien adventure earned $22 million and after 9 weeks its domestic total stands at around $659 million. Rounding out the top five last week’s number one film, the romantic drama, “Dear John” with $15.3 million. In two weeks, this chick flick has raked in $53 million. Once again, chick flicks have proven wrong that old worn, Hollywood adage that quote, “women don’t go to movies.” 

Going back to mid-November of 2009, every number one hit at the domestic Box Office, not called “Avatar,” has been a chick movie, according to a recent article on thewrap.com. The article suggests we’re witnessing the rise of the female-driven blockbuster — something Hollywood executives cannot dismiss as a fluke. 

They’re playing on the radio almost non-stop this weekend– love songs — a tribute to Valentine’s Day. I’m cool with that. One of my favorites “Silly Love Songs” is by that oh-so skillful songwriter/former-Beatle, Paul McCartney, who has learned a thing or two about love.   

McCartney wrote “Silly Love Songs” more than three decades ago, yet it still resonates. It’s for the romantics and the cynics and those in-between. In other words, it pretty much speaks to all of us.

SILLY LOVE SONGS”
Lyrics and Music by Paul McCartney (1976)

You’d think that people would have had enought of Silly Love Songs.
But I look around me and I see it isn’t so.
Some people wanna fill the world with Silly Love Songs.
And what’s wrong with that?
I’d like to know, ’cause here I go again
I love you, I love you,
I love you, I love you.

I can’t explain the feeling’s plain to me; say can’t you see?
Ah, she gave me more, she gave it all to me
Now can’t you see, what’s wrong with that
I need to know, ’cause here I go again
I love you, I love you.

Love doesn’t come in a minute,
sometimes it doesn’t come at all
I only know that when I’m in it
It isn’t silly, no, it isn’t silly, Love isn’t silly at all.

How can I tell you about my loved one?
How can I tell you about my loved one?

How can I tell you about my loved one?
(I loveyou)
How can I tell you about my loved one?
(I loveyou)
[repeat and fade]

Photo:Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Instyle.com — Sandra Bullock wears Alexander McQueen on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards January 2010.

The fashion industry and many in the entertainment biz are mourning the unexpected death of British designer Alexander McQueen. On Thursday morning, February 11, McQueen was discovered dead, of an apparent suicide, in his London home. He was only 40 and living an incredibly successful career.

I must admit, McQueen’s name was not as familiar to me as some other designers. On this post, are just a few of his stylish creations worn by some of his celebrity fans. It turns out, I’ve admired a number of McQueen’s outfits on the red carpert, not realizing he was the creator.

Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com/Instyle.com — Jennifer Connelly poses in a red dress by Alexander McQueen at the Hollywood Film Festival in October 2007.

He was born Lee Alexander McQueen on March 17, 1969 in the East End of London. After extensive training as a tailor and designer, McQueen quickly gained fame in the fashion industry. In 1996, he was the head designer for Givenchy and later moved on to partner with Gucci.  

Photo: Gilbert Flores/Celebrity Photo.com/Instyle.com — Cate Blanchett wore Alexander McQueen to the  Golden Globe Awards in January 2007.

McQueen was not only known for his high-quality and provocative couture collections, but also for his imaginative and cutting edge theatrical fashion presentations. The Instyle.com website has extensive coverage of McQueen’s fashions and his talent as a showman, including an article called, ”Daring to Be Brilliant: The Talent of Alexander McQueen.”

The birds are singing and with good reason on this gorgeous Southland Saturday. There’s not a hint of all those vicious storms that wreaked havoc on SoCal for days, forcing the locals to hunker down in their homes with the windows shut tight and the heater blasting. Earlier this week, while shivering on a corner in Burbank waiting for the light to turn green, a co-worker next to me asked, “Is this not the coldest winter ever?” I didn’t know the answer, but it sure felt like it at the time. 

A short while ago, I was out for a power walk and noticed folks gardening and driving around in cars with the convertible tops down. Wow, what a difference a few days can make.

 At 1 p.m. in Burbank, the temperature hovered around 72, according to the weatherforyou.com website.  A high of 75 is predicted, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the temperature surpassed that in Media City today. Even warmer temps are in store for tomorrow, Valentine’s Day, and Monday, Presidents Day. The forecast for the rest of the week is for more of the same clear skies and oh, so wonderfully warm weather. Groovy, groovy, groovy!!

Google file photo: Bill and Hillary Clinton

Ex-President Bill Clinton is reportedly recovering at his suburban New York home today, after leaving a Manhattan hospital early this morning. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is reportedly with her husband at the family home in Chappaqua, about 35 miles north of New York City.

The former president spent the night in the hospital for observation, following a heart procedure to unclog a blocked artery. Clinton’s health drama began several days ago when he started feeling some discomfort or pressure in his chest. Yesterday, Clinton entered New York Presbyterian Hospital where he underwent a procedure called angioplasty to restores blood flow by widening blocked artery. Also, a couple of small devices called stents were inserted in the re-opened artery to keep it that way.

Doctors insisted Clinton did not suffer a heart attack. Okay, but it was still a serious episode when you have to undergo a heart procedure. Also, Clinton has had heart trouble before. In 2004, he underwent a quadruple bypass. Clinton’s cardiologist, Dr. Allan Schwartz, says one of the arteries cleared during the bypass had become blocked and that is why yesterday’s surgery was necessary.

Even though his cardiologist did not say so publicly, many are hoping the ex-president slows down a bit. Since leaving the White House in 2001, Clinton has been quite active with book tours, speaking engagements, fundraising, political events, and now involved in efforts to assist earthquake ravaged Haiti. Clinton is the U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rushed from Washington DC to New York to be with her husband yesterday. Daughter Chelsea was already there with her father. Due to her husband’s health issue, White House officials say the secretary has delayed a planned trip to the Middle East today, until at least tomorrow.

There’s an update on the former president on the website of the William J. Clinton Foundation, from spokesman Douglas Band:

“President Bill Clinton was released from New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia this morning in excellent health. He warmly thanks the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Hospital for the care he received, particularly Dr. Mark Apfelbaum and Dr. Michael Collins, who performed his procedure yesterday, which was overseen by Dr. Craig Smith and President Clinton’s cardiologist Dr. Allan Schwartz. President Clinton would also like to thank the many people who extended their best wishes to him for a quick recovery. He looks forward in the days ahead to getting back to the work of his Foundation, and to Haiti relief and recovery efforts.”

“The Hurt Locker” nominated for Best Picture Oscar

Final voting ballots for the 82nd Academy Awards are in the mail. Ballots were carefully sorted, counted, and mailed out yesterday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with an assist from the high-powered accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The ballots should be arriving soon at the mailboxes of the academy’s 5,777 members. The completed ballots must reach PricewaterhouseCoopers no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. The votes will be tabulated and the winners announced on Oscar night, Sunday ,March 7 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. ABC will carry the Academy Awards Ceremony, which honors outstanding film achievements in 2009, live beginning at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. According to the academy, the ceremony will be seen live in more than 200 countries around the globe.

Oh, and the matter of the producer credit dilemma on two of the best picture nominees has been cleared up. Last week, the Academy’s Producers Branch Executive Committee announced the credits for “The Blind Side” and “The Hurt Locker.”

“The Blind Side”  Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, and Broderick Johnson, producers.

“The Hurt Locker”  Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, and Greg Shapiro, producers.

Normally, the academy only allows three producers to be credited on best picture nominees, however,  under “extraordinary circumstances” an additional producer may be listed. The academy’s committee determined “The Hurt Locker” met the requirements to have four people listed as producers. 

 Pete Souza/Official White House Photo — First dog and fun loving canine, “Bo” frolics on the south grounds of the White House during a blizzard today.

The East Coast is getting walloped by the second major snowstorm in a week. The storm is expected to drop upwards of 14 inches on the nation’s capital today. The snowy weather has shutdown government agencies, grounded airlines, closed schools, and even halted the delivery of the U.S. mail in some places.

For White House first dog Bo, the blizzard meant playtime in a winter wonderland. President Obama  nicknamed the earlier snowstorm, “Snowmageddon.” Today’s blizzard is probably ”Snowmageddon II” and it has helped break the seasonal snowfall record for DC of 54.4 inches set in 1899! 

After an early morning chill and some sprinkles, the sun is shining in the Southland. Yees! At 5 p.m. this afternoon, it was 61 in Burbank. The forecast is for clear skies and even warmer temperatures for SoCal over the next several days. 

The evacuations for the local burn communities in the foothills are canceled and hundreds of residents are heading back home.  Also, the tough job of cleaning up after those heavy rainstorms can now kick into high gear.

Photo: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times — Michael Jackson’s physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, escorted into the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles 02/08/10

The late MIchael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is out on bail today after being charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the entertainer’s death last summer. Murray pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in a courtroom near Los Angeles International Airport yesterday. The doctor faces a maximum of four years in prison.

As a condition of his $75,000 bail Murray, a licensed cardiologist, is not allowed to prescribe heavy sedatives, especially propofol.  A coroner’s report released yesterday listed propofol, routinely used in major surgery, as a key factor in the death of the King of Pop on June 25, 2009. Murray is accused of administering a fatal dose of propofol to Jackson as a sleeping aid.

In the courtroom, media from around the world as well as members of the Jackson family. Murray is due back in court April 5, to set a date for a preliminary hearing. The Los Angeles Times has more on the Murray hearing and the coroner’s report on Jackson’s death here.

Photo: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times — La Toya Jackson, looking into the camera, is followed by her father Joe Jackson, wearing a hat, as both arrive at the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles 02/08/10 

UPDATE  4:07 p.m.  The mandatory evacuation of 300 homes ordered in nearby Sierra Madre due to the heavy downpour and what officials there call a “red flag mud alert.” Reports of hail and thunderstorms in the Southland as well.  

UPDATE 12:30 p.m. Right on schedule, thunder and heavy rain in Burbank. This is a cooold system! I was outside a short while ago and you need a coat and umbrella to deal with the weather conditions. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some hail soon.

The first band of a new storm is due in the Southland around noon today. Skies are overcast and threatening here in Burbank at 7:30 a.m. This is going to be another strange system with thunderstorms, hail, and all sorts of weird weather. The rain could be very heavy at times with the soggy hillsides getting as much as an inch and a half or so. 

In the local burn areas new evacuations ordered for 541 homes; details are on this Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website. Some residents in La Cañada Flintridge were just unpacking from last weekend’s evacuations and now they’ve got to get out of their homes again by 10 a.m. this morning.  

Yeah, yeah we need the rain, but at this point, we need a break to dry out from all these rain storms.

Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez/ Los Angeles Times — Officials red-tagged some severely damaged homes as unsafe for entry or habitation in La Cañada Flintridge today.

Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles Times — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and local officials tour a storm damaged neighborhood in La Cañada Flintridge today.

More  storm photos on the Los Angeles Times website.

Sooner or later it was going to happen. “Avatar” getting dethroned, but who suspected a chick flick would kick the sci-fi epic out of the top spot at the domestic Box Office. Yet, that’s just what occurred on this Super Bowl weekend. The military love story, “Dear John” trounced “Avatar” with an estimated $32 million debut to become the number one film in the country.

“Dear John” stars Channing Tatum as a U.S. Special Forces Army sergeant who falls in love with a college student played by Amanda Seyfried, however, their romance gets tested when the sergeant re-enlists after the 9-11 attacks. “Dear John” is based on the best selling novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks, who has had four of his other books turned into movies as well: “Message in a Bottle (199),” “A Walk to Remember (2002),” “The Notebook (2004),” and “Nights in Rodanthe (2008).”

The mega-hit, “Avatar” slipped to second after seven weeks at number one with around $23.6 million, bringing its domestic take to a humongous $630 million. In third, earning $8 million, another new film, “From Paris With Love.” It’s an action/spy thriller shot in Paris, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

The Mel Gibson crime drama, “Edge of Darkness” came in fourth with $7 million, followed by the family comedy “Tooth Fairy” in fifth with about $6.5 million.

Photo: Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times — a runaway mud flow sweeps away trees and rocks and races down a street in La Cañada Flintridge today. Check out the L.A. Times storm photo gallery here.

A vicious storm sucker punched the Southland early this morning, unleashing landslides, swift mud flows, causing power outages, damaging around 43 homes, and forcing evacuations. Some areas got as much as four inches of rain from this latest series of stormy weather.

Here in Burbank, I was awakened by loud, rumbling thunder followed by some intense pounding rain on the roof before dawn. By this morning’s light, the devastation was shockingly clear in the nearby fire scorched hills. At a news conference this afternoon, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich described a hard hit La Cañada Flintridge neighborhood as looking like a  ”… war zone area…” 

In La Cañada Flintridge 24 properties were damaged, including a dozen homes which were heavily damaged or destroyed. As mud flows careened down streets, as many as 25 vehicles were swept away along with trees, boulders, and debris. 540 homes in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, and Acton have been evacuated; details on that on this Los Angeles County Public Works website.

Also, 300 more evacuations ordered in neighborhoods burned by fires two years ago in nearby Sierra Madre.

Throughout Los Angeles and Orange County, flooding, mudslides, weather-related accidents on streets and roads. Also, repair crews worked all day to restore power to more than 20 thousand users; some still in the dark this evening.    

Tonight, the forecast is for scattered showers and cloudy skies. Sunshine is on tap for Sunday, but by Tuesday and Wednesday, another storm is due to arrive and it could be just as much of a terror as the Saturday morning deluge.

The Southland is getting pelted by more rain showers again. The rain rolled in overnight and by morning, there were reports of flooding and snarled traffic on local highways and roads. Weather watchers are predicting this storm will come through in three waves — the first is dumping on the region now — light showers to heavy rain — depending on where you are. The second wave is due this afternoon and then, the third arrives sometime on Saturday.

A light rain falling in Burbank this morning, but it will become heavier later on in the day. At around 10 a.m., it was 52 with a high of 60 forecasted.  The storm could drop somewhere between an inch and two inches in the valleys and two-to-four inches in the foothills. In nearby fire-ravaged neighborhoods of La Canada Flintridge work crews are already on the scene clearing debris and keeping a close eye on those soaked hillsides.

The recession and the tight job market have made the workplace even wilder and crazier for far too many overburdened employees. No matter how demanding or over-the-top the boss or office manager may be or simple-minded the job, quitting is not an option. Some of these workers need a place to vent and that’s where the website Please Fire Me comes in. It’s a site where workers can anonymously diss the jobs they can’t afford to ditch. 

I found the link for Pleasefireme.com in a post on the book publishing site GalleyCat. The “why you hate the job you can’t leave” site was created by literary manager, Adam Chromy of Artists and Artisans to promote his client, David Ellis Dickerson’s memoir, “House of Cards, Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions.” The book is about Dickerson’s adventures in corporate America as a greeting card writer at Hallmark.

If the book is half as entertaining as the Please Fire Me website then it’ll be a bestseller. I gotta tell ya, some of the worker gripes and boss-outings are throw-down-funny, in fact, I was screaming with laughter over a few of them. Some comments describe the strangest, the weirdest, and most ridiculous behavior in the workplace. While others were sad and poignant revelations about how workers are mistreated and exploited.  You know, a lot of it has the ring of truth. Whatever happened to professionalism in the office and all those legal and government regulations that are supposed to protect employees from abuse?

Here are some of the worker complaints:

“Please fire me. My boss sent an email asking me to find her a stuffed animal frog wearing pink high heels and order it online pronto. And she prioritized the email.”

“Please fire me. My boss gave me a one-hour lecture on the two most important things in life: a good mattress and good shoes. I feel bad that his wife and three kids didn’t make the list.”

“Please fire me. I just booked Valentine’s Day reservations for my boss at a restaurant that I’ll never be able to afford to eat because of how little I get paid. “

“Please fire me. I just caught my old boss copying down my goals from last year’s review and noting them as his own for this year.”

“Please fire me. I’ve been working here for a year. Since then, my last two bosses were fired and a high school girl who started last month just got promoted to be my new boss.”

“Please fire me. I’ve written four bestselling novels at my desk in the past two years and no one has noticed.”

“Please fire me. I work at NBC.”

For more revelations from frustrated workers click over to the Please Fire Me site.  Oh yeah, I’ve added this site to my favorites list.

Official White House photo by Pete Souza — A beautiful shot of the White House this morning after a night of snow from The White House Blog.

East Coast vs the West Coast. They’re shoveling snow in Washington, DC, while we’re basking in the bright sunshine here in the Southland.

This morning, they woke up to a snow day at the White House after a snowy night in the nation’s capital. The snowfall created a lovely snapshot of the White House and surrounding grounds, but made traveling on local roads and streets treacherous. The high reached only into the 40s in DC today.  

The snow began to melt during the day, but forecasters are predicting another snow storm for the city by Friday —bringing with it perhaps as much as a foot of the white stuff!  burrr!

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A scenic view from a Burbank neighborhood on a warm, sunny afternoon last month.

 Here in Media City another terrific winter day. Sunny and very warm; with a high that reached 70 degrees!! I love weather like this whether the calendar says February or April or November. Another reason to hang out in Burbank.  

Tomorrow the weather is expected to shift back into a more wintry groove with cloudy skies in the evening and a good chance of rain on Friday and showers likely through Saturday. Oh well, keep those umbrellas handy.